Generations of Deceit
by frogfoot24
Summary: Caution OOP Spoilers here! A Harry/Snape/Lily/Voldemort fic about a secret that costs one of the four dearly. *Complete*
1. Default Chapter

Did Snape really choose to become a Death Eater, and just why did Voldemort offer Lily freedom in return for sacrificing Harry? Promises are made and kept, leading to a lifetime of guilt for Severus Snape, and a secret that must be kept at all costs. A very short, complete Snape/Lily/Harry/Voldemortt fic. Please read and review.  
  
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Prologue - The Beginning  
  
"So it is true then, you are with child Irina?"  
  
"Yes My Lord." The dark haired woman kneeling before him answered without raising her head.  
  
"And is it true also that the child is mine?"  
  
"Yes My Lord. There is no doubt."  
  
"No doubt? How can you be so certain Irina? Surely there is a possibility that it is your husband's?"  
  
"No My Lord."  
  
Voldemort chuckled at this. He could imagine EXACTLY how frustrated Daniel Snape would be at having sexual favours withheld from him by his wife. He was quite surprised that he had stood for it.  
  
"You have done well Irina." He offered his hand and helped the woman to her feet. "Does Daniel know?"  
  
"Yes My Lord."  
  
"And?"  
  
"While the thought of acting as a father to your child hardly fills my husband with enthusiasm, My Lord, he is willing to accept the burden until you choose to accept it yourself."  
  
Voldemort chuckled again, enthusiasm was the last thing her husband would be filled with when told of her pregnancy particularly when the identity of the father was made known. Daniel Snape was, at best, a reluctant servant, unlike his loyal wife. "Excellent. You will both be well rewarded for your sacrifice when the time comes and I have risen to power and rid the world of Muggles and Muggle Lovers."  
  
"Thank you My Lord, but that will not be necessary. The only reward I desire is to know that you will recognise your son when he comes of age and accept him as a Death Eater. The knowledge that I bore him will be ample reward."  
  
Voldemort nodded. "You are a loyal servant Irina, and a truly wise woman.. I am glad your husband has accepted the situation without complaint. Rest assured that I will accept, and recognise, my son. When the time is right he will take is rightful place at my right hand."  
  
"Thank you My Lord. You are both gracious and generous."  
  
"You may leave me now Irina." Voldemort dismissed the woman who was carrying his child. "Return to your husband. Take pride in the responsibility you have taken upon yourself. You will not be called again until after the child's birth. Your obligations have been sufficiently fulfilled by the news you have brought me today."  
  
"Thank you My Lord. It is a pleasure to provide this service for you." Irina apparated away, happy to know that He would accept her child, happy to know that Her child would one day sit at the right hand of the Dark Lord. 


	2. The End of the Beginning

The End Of The Beginning  
  
"Severus, I'm pregnant." Lily looked away from the dark haired man before her.  
  
Snape gasped. "Oh, Lily, no."  
  
Lily nodded mutely, unable to look at him, fearing the disappointment she would see. "I'm sorry."  
  
Gently, Snape took her shoulders. "Don't be sorry. You don't need to be sorry. I am the one that should apologise. I should never have allowed things to go this far."  
  
Lily let out a sob. "Please don't tell me you regret us."  
  
Snape shook his head. "How could I regret us? I only regret that it will all end so soon."  
  
"You can't go. Please tell me you won't go." Lily begged in a whisper.  
  
"You know I can't tell you that Lily. I have no choice in the matter. My parents promised me to him at birth." He looked at her gently. "I don't know if we will get a chance to be together again before I am called to take the mark, but I will do my best."  
  
Lily looked at Snape, mind made up. "Then I will come with you."  
  
"No. I won't allow it. Besides, we both know HE would never allow it." Snape couldn't bring himself to say the Dark Lord's name.  
  
Lily looked at him forlorn. "Severus.. Please.."  
  
"Quiet My Love. We both know there are no alternatives. There never was." Snape swallowed his pride and did the only thing he could to save the woman he loved. "Go to Potter and tell him everything. He will understand and forgive you. He will accept our child as his own. I know he still loves you."  
  
"But I love YOU." Lily protested.  
  
"I know My Sweet, but it can never be. It never could, and we both know it. I was a fool to start something I knew I would never be able to finish. I am very sorry I have hurt you."  
  
Lily shook her head. "You could never hurt me." She looked at Snape and thought she saw tears in his eyes. She said nothing, knowing he would never admit to their presence. She wanted, desperately, to ease his pain. She wanted him to go forward with a clear conscience, not one burdened with guilt. "Is there anything I can do?"  
  
"Have a happy life." His words were quiet.  
  
"Severus."  
  
He drew her towards him and placed his elegant hands on her stomach, as if to touch his unborn child, a child he would never know. "Promise me one thing. Promise me you will never let him have our child. Don't make the same mistake my parents did."  
  
Lily shook her head. "Never Severus, never. Our child will grow up free - I promise on my life."  
  
He nodded, praying it would never come to that. He moved his hands to her face and wiped away the tears she was unable to prevent. Allowing them to linger there briefly, he smiled as the image of the tearful woman was seared for all eternity into his soul. Without another word, he apparated away, leaving Lily, his Lily, for the last time. 


	3. The Beginning of the End

The Beginning Of The End  
  
Snape stared at his hands, wondering how his life had come to this. How had he survived when Lily had not? How had that happened? Finding out that she was a target, that their child was a target, had been the final blow that had driven him back to Dumbledore begging for redemption. News of her death, and that of her husband, his nemesis James Potter, defending his son, had almost broken him.  
  
And now that child was coming to Hogwarts.  
  
Snape had not expected to live long enough to meet his son. Now the day had finally come, and all that he could think of was the beautiful woman that had sacrificed her life to make it possible.  
  
"I promise on my life." Her words haunted him still. Even though he was the one responsible for Lily's death, he knew it would take all his strength not to blame the boy for his mother's sacrifice. He realised, too, that he would fail miserably.  
  
"Harry Potter!" McGonagall's Scottish accent rang through the hall.  
  
He watched a small, dark-haired boy move forward and sit with trepidation. The Sorting Hat was placed upon the boy's head, and the entire hall of students and staff waited. Harry Potter, celebrity of the wizarding world, his son, a Snape, not really a Potter at all, was about to be sorted. The boy would never know the truth though, keeping that secret was the only thing he could do to repay the debt he owed Potter for accepting the boy as his own.  
  
"Gryffindor!" The hat called out.  
  
The hall was filled with cheers as the small boy moved to the Gryffindor table. One of the throng, however, did not cheer, even though he had been prepared for the inevitable choice.  
  
Snape watched the boy from across the hall and the boy seemed to watch him in return, rubbing his scar, that damned scar, which had cost so much. His own scar, the Dark Mark, was burning too, as if in warning of the trouble to come.  
  
He hated the boy for what his life had cost, but he would never let Voldemort have him. Never. Lily had given her life to save him from that, at his request. If necessary, Severus Snape would do the same. He almost wished for that opportunity.  
  
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Note: Just in case it isn't obvious, Snape doesn't know that Voldemort is his father. IF I write a conclusion, it is swimming around in my head at the moment, he might just find out.. 


	4. The End of the End

Authors Note: OK, here it is, I don't know if anyone will actually still be out there to read this, but here is the completion of Generations of Deceit. Sorry it has taken so long... Please forgive me and review if you like it :)  
  
Caution: OOP spoilers and character death follow.  
  
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The End of the End  
  
"Come in Severus, take a seat. I am afraid I have some information that will be painful for you."  
  
Snape took the offered seat and waited patiently for the Headmaster to continue. He didn't have to wait long.  
  
The older wizard returned to his desk with a letter in his hand and sat down. "Severus, what I must first ask of you is perhaps beyond what you are willing to give in the name of the light, but ask I must none the less."  
  
"I understand Headmaster. Please continue." Snape prepared himself for the inevitable.  
  
"Voldemort's power is growing daily, as you know. I am afraid that we must deal with him before he grows too strong for us."  
  
"By 'we' you mean Harry."  
  
Dumbledore nodded sadly at the younger man's statement. "Yes Severus, I am afraid I do. He is the only one who can defeat Voldemort; you have seen the prophecy. I understand how hard it is for you to accept this, I understand that you would do anything to save him from this, particularly after Lily's sacrifice, but there is a greater truth that you must be told in order to believe, something I should have told you many years ago."  
  
Snape looked at Dumbledore, mystified. What could be so important, yet so secret? "Continue Headmaster." He said, feigning disinterest.  
  
Dumbledore reached out and passed the letter he was holding to the younger man. "This is for you. I have not opened it but I am aware of what it contains. I apologise in advance for the pain you are about to experience."  
  
Snape took the letter with some trepidation. He noticed it was addressed to "My Son." He opened it and read the contents slowly, slumping in the chair as the full impact of what it contained was driven home.  
  
"Severus." The Headmaster probed gently.  
  
Severus sat frozen, unable to digest the contents of the letter in his hand. What little colour he normally had was gone from his face.  
  
"Severus." He tried again.  
  
"It can't be true."  
  
"Severus, I am sorry to tell you that it is. Your mother told me everything when she gave me the letter. She explained everything, including the fact that you were promised to him and would be his when you came to full power. It is a truth that I have hidden from you your whole life and the guilt weighs heavily on my soul. Your actions were decided before your birth, your choices were not your own. I am guilty of allowing you to think that they were."  
  
Snape stood suddenly. "Does the boy know?"  
  
"No, that is something I will leave to you."  
  
"Thank you so much Headmaster." Snape answered sarcastically.  
  
"Severus, please.."  
  
"I need to think." Snape stormed from the office in a flurry of robes.  
  
********************************************  
  
"Sit down please Harry."  
  
Harry took the seat offered and waited for the Headmaster to continue.  
  
"Harry, the time is approaching that you must face Voldemort."  
  
"I know."  
  
Dumbledore looked at the young man before him. He was so much like his father in so many ways. He knew he was the only one that saw the similarities.  
  
"Harry do you feel ready."  
  
Harry nodded. "I feel as ready as I will ever be. Everything I have been through has led me to this point. I knew it would come eventually. I had hoped to graduate first, but I can feel his power building too and realise that will never happen."  
  
"You are very brave. This will be unlike anything you have experienced."  
  
"I can beat him or I will die trying."  
  
"Harry I hope that will not be necessary."  
  
Harry shrugged. "I don't really care either way. It is what I was born to do. Besides, I have no family to live for and if my life is the price that needs to be paid to save my friends from the same fate then I will pay that price happily. I am a Gryffindor remember." Harry laughed a little, but it was a mirthless sound.  
  
"Harry, you must not be careless with your life. There are people that care for you a great deal."  
  
"Yes, but they are not family. It doesn't matter though. I am ready. How do I do this? Do I just stand in the middle of the Quidditch pitch and yell bring it on?"  
  
"No Harry, we have a way of getting you into a position to attack. Professor Snape will take you."  
  
Harry groaned. Snape. Of all people! "Does it have to be Snape, Sir?"  
  
Dumbledore looked at the boy. "Professor Snape Harry," he corrected quietly. "Yes, Harry, I am afraid it does. He is a Death Eater. Even if Voldemort is aware of his role as a spy, he still has information that is vital to getting you in." He would leave the truth to Severus to tell the boy, it was his right. He knew it was unlikely to happen.  
  
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"Headmaster,  
  
You understand that I am hesitant to agree to your plan. I doubt that it will be successful, but I am also more than amply aware of the fact that there are few alternatives to what we go to do this evening. For this reason I will go forward willingly and do what I can to ensure that we have the best opportunity to succeed. I am the only one that can ensure that, for reasons that are now clear to me.  
  
I am reluctant to admit to the fact that I expect that only one will return from our little adventure this evening, in case you choose to withdraw me from this mission. I can't imagine my father will allow us both to walk away, but I promise that he will not have us both. I will endeavour, to the best of my abilities, to ensure that the right one returns.  
  
I am grateful for your support and guidance over the years, even if it has not always seemed to be the case. I am grateful that you chose to accept me back into the light and I am grateful that you stood up for me in defiance of the Ministry, at great personal cost to yourself. I am not worthy of such fervent support. Perhaps this night will allow me to repay that generosity in some small way; perhaps tonight I will be able to repay some of the debt I owe.  
  
Your devoted Potions Master.  
  
Severus S. Snape."  
  
Dumbledore read the letter through and sighed. He had to agree, Voldemort was unlikely to allow both warriors to return alive, and he hated the thought that he would loose on or the other before the night was through. He wished there was an alternative to what he was asking, but he knew there was none. One would pay with his life, one with his happiness, but tonight the world would be saved or lost, and Harry Potter, Severus Snape's son, and Tom Riddle's grandson, was the only one that could do that. It was worth the cost. It had to be.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Harry looked at Snape with a look of distaste on his face. Of all the people he had to do this with! Why did it have to be his most hated Professor? "Is it really necessary for it to be this way? For us to go together and alone?"  
  
Snape looked up from his preparations and noticed Harry's look. He sighed. He had done an excellent job of turning his boy away from him. He couldn't even bear to be alone in the same room. Snape knew it was for the best, but couldn't help wondering how things might have been in a different world.  
  
"Don't worry Potter, I am no more enthusiastic about working with you than you are about working with me. Unfortunately there is no other way." Snape responded caustically. Looking at his son he shuddered at the look of revulsion he received in return.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Harry stood in front of Voldemort, wand out in readiness. "I call upon the magic of my ancestors to defeat you. I call for their power to strengthen me in my quest."  
  
Voldemort chuckled amused. It was even better than he had imagined! He couldn't wait to see the look on the boy's face when he realised what that meant. And to have his own boy here too! Even better! It was obvious the Harry was unaware of his ancestry. He wouldn't remain unaware for long.  
  
Harry could feel the power building in him. He looked at Voldemort with hatred burning in his eyes.  
  
"Harry, cut the theatrics and get on with it." Snape hissed at him. His energy was waning. He wouldn't be able to hold the other Death Eaters off for much longer. If he failed the result would be disastrous.  
  
"Shut up. You've done your job, let me do mine."  
  
Snape flinched at the hatred in Harry's voice. He knew the boy would be just as happy to kill him if necessary. He had done and excellent job of breeding hatred in the boy. He had come to regret the decision he had made to make the boy hate him, but it was far too late to undo the damage.  
  
Voldemort chuckled again, yes, quite amusing. Such a shame it would all end so soon.  
  
"I call upon the power of the Ancients to strengthen me. Together, as one with the past, I will eliminate you and free the future from your domination." Harry could feel the power building in him and knew he was almost ready.  
  
Voldemort snorted again and drew his own wand. "You know boy, your arrogance will be your undoing. You really should listen to your. Professor." He finished, sneering.  
  
"Him," Harry spat derisively, "No this is beyond him. He is an idiot who follows blindly, nothing but a bitter ex-servant to an evil tyrant. He is nothing more than a tool in this war and he will be discarded when he is no longer needed." Harry could feel the anger built within him. Every second he could feel his power double. There was no way he could fail.  
  
Snape flinched as the true depth of his son's hatred struck him.  
  
"Wrong again Potter. You take after your father, he was a fool too." The Dark Lord pointed his wand at the boy. "Enough! You no longer amuse me boy."  
  
Harry had nearly reached full power, and he was focussing on maintaining the connection he had set up with the ancients. He was unaware of the danger he was in, unaware of the fact that the opportunity for success was rapidly disappearing.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
Snape watched both Voldemort and Harry, horrified. He knew what would come next, he could see it in his father's eyes as he had seen it so many times before. He looked at his own son. Harry seemed to be blissfully unaware of the danger he was in.  
  
With his concentration averted from the task of controlling the Death Eaters, his control over them waned. He realised the danger but it was too late. It was all too late. He had always known that the time required to summon the power of the ancients would be their downfall. Dumbledore had been wrong when he had ignored his concerns.  
  
Pettigrew and Malfoy now had their wands out too, and the three dark wizards were all pointing them at the boy who lived. Together they would ensure that he would not do so again.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
Whether Harry realised the danger or not, Snape never knew. With reflexes honed by his years as a spy and the years he had spent teaching potions to clumsy students, he thrust himself toward the foolish boy and pushed him aside as the light from 3 wands arced towards him. "NO!"  
  
At the same time as the unforgivable curse hit him, Snape heard the boy say the exact same words, and the same light arced from Harry's wand towards Voldemort. Snape was still living as he watched his father fall to the ground, eyes wide with surprise. It was done. He closed his eyes and waited for death to overcome him, it wouldn't be long.  
  
There was a flash of brilliant white light, and when it disappeared, Voldemort and the Death Eaters were gone, there was nothing left but a pile of ash where each dark wizard had stood. Surprisingly, Snape remained, still living, his punishment not yet complete and atonement not yet done.  
  
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Harry looked at Snape, crumpled on the floor. He felt a small twinge of guilt at the man's sacrifice but disregarded it. The evil Potions Master had brought his demise upon himself. Even if he had turned from the darkness and become a spy for the light, he had still, at one time, chosen to be one of Voldemort's followers. Better men and women had died rather than make that choice. He had probably killed some of them. He put the man out of his mind.  
  
Reaching up to the charm around his neck, Harry spoke quietly. "Headmaster, it is done."  
  
Without any further delay, Dumbledore apparated to the chamber, the wards around the school released at the Dark Lord's death. "Harry, you did it. I was afraid that it may have been beyond you. Professor Snape was concerned that it would be too much, that you would be in danger."  
  
Harry snorted. "Like he would care." He could still feel the power of the Ancients coursing through his veins. It made him reckless and indifferent.  
  
Dumbledore, quickly surveying the chamber, realised with a shock of recognition, that the crumpled body on the floor was not just some Death Eater. It was his Potions Master and he moved quickly to the fallen man.  
  
"He's dead." Harry said coldly, barely able to control the very Snape-like sneer that rose to his lips.  
  
"Oh Lord." Dumbledore couldn't believe he had allowed the man to make the supreme sacrifice. He should never have allowed him the freedom to make that choice, Snape had already paid dearly, many times over, for crimes that were not his own. He felt for a pulse. "He's alive Harry."  
  
"Like it matters. Let me put him out of my misery."  
  
"Harry!" Dumbledore exclaimed sharply.  
  
"He is of no value." Harry said uncaring, eyes burning with hatred for the Potions Master, the energy of the ancient's feeding his anger.  
  
"Harry enough of this! Let the energy go!" Dumbledore ordered.  
  
"No!" Harry spat defiantly.  
  
Dumbledore turned his attention from the angry boy, still high on the raw energy, to the man dying in his arms. "You were right Severus, I am sorry. It was too much for him.. Forgive me."  
  
"Nothing to forgive Headmaster." Snape breathed quietly. "It was my mistake. I am the reason he hates me. It is my penance. Don't blame the boy, he never knew."  
  
"But to treat anyone like this."  
  
"Not important..."  
  
"He must know."  
  
"No. Can't."  
  
Harry was beginning to come down from the high induced by the energy, but the effects of the raw power were still evident. "I must know what."  
  
"Harry, Professor Snape-" Dumbledore began.  
  
"Is Voldemort's son." The dying wizard finished quickly, cutting Dumbledore off.  
  
"The apple didn't fall far from the tree then I see."  
  
Snape winced. God's why was he still alive to witness this. Adavra Kedavra didn't take this long. It couldn't. Perhaps his lingering death was just so he could further atone for his sins. Now he would be alive to see his son reject him, again.  
  
"It did actually."  
  
"What? How dare you! How dare you compare yourself to a good wizard? You are just as bad as you father Snape. You are a gutless evil creep who took pleasure in punishing those too weak to defend themselves and you have the audacity to compare yourself to brave good wizard who died trying to fight your daddy. You make me sick! Hurry up and die! Now isn't soon enough!" Harry spat viciously.  
  
"Severus. Please. He must know." Dumbledore encouraged.  
  
Snape looked from Dumbledore to his son, who was still under the influence of the built up energy running through him. He knew the Headmaster was right. Snape realised that the boy might not be willing to accept the truth at that moment, but that it would be unfair not to tell him. It would just perpetuate the lie that had cost them both so dearly. One day, he hoped, he would be willing to accept it, perhaps, but if he were never told, he would never have that option. He himself wished he had been told of his parentage; it may have influenced some of his own choices.  
  
Snape nodded, finally giving in. "I meant you Harry..." He said quietly.  
  
"Me what?" Harry spat.  
  
"You fell far from the tree Harry."  
  
"No, I'm exactly like my father, that is why you have punished me for the last 7 years."  
  
Snape shook his head feebly and coughed, blood emerging from his mouth. "No Harry, you are nothing like your father. You're better than he ever was..." He breathed weakly.  
  
"Damn you Snape! Even now you can't acknowledge that he was good. He was better than you!" Harry spat vehemently.  
  
"I am already damned Harry, I have been, my whole life: from birth to death," the Potions Master accepted quietly, "but it doesn't negate the fact that your father was no better than me." Harry was about to explode with anger, when Snape continued quietly. "It would have been impossible for it to be so because I am your father." The dying man finally admitted.  
  
Harry looked at him disbelieving. "Liar!"  
  
"No Harry." Dumbledore's words were quiet, insistent. "Professor Snape is many things, but he is not a liar."  
  
With the energy of the ancients rapidly receding now, and its effect on him weakening, Harry looked at Dumbledore and realised that he was being told the truth. A sick feeling rose within him - Snape, the greasy git, was his father, and now he was lying before him dying. It couldn't be true. "My father.. Snape's my father?"  
  
"Professor Snape Harry. And yes, he is your father."  
  
"My Father.." Harry looked stunned. "I don't understand, correct that, I don't believe you."  
  
"Severus, you should explain." Dumbledore urged gently.  
  
"Can't." Snape breathed. "Too weak. no time." Snape started to shiver as his body shut down. Dying shouldn't have been this hard - the killing curse was normally instantaneous, or very nearly so. Snape realised suddenly that only one in the room had the power and knowledge to stay his death. Dumbledore, the meddling old fool, must have been weaving some almost dark magic of his own in an effort to keep him alive long enough to tell the boy the truth. Snape wished he hadn't bothered.  
  
****************************************************  
  
Energy gone, confused by what he had been told and was now feeling, Harry moved towards the two wizards. Suddenly he felt regretful for what he had said. Snape HAD saved him from the killing curse, at the cost of his own life. Even if everything he had been told since Dumbledore had arrived was some sort of elaborate charade, the man had still taken the killing curse upon himself to save him. If he couldn't forgive him after that sacrifice, he was no better than those he had fought so hard to defeat.  
  
He decided, on a whim, that he would listen to Snape, he would give him the chance to explain, he owed the dying man that much after all, but the explanation would have to be good. Harry didn't think he would ever believe the greasy git was his father; it was incomprehensible, but he knelt by Snape. "Tell me, if it's true. You have to explain if you want me to believe." He urged, almost desperate to believe, but just as desperate to reject what he would be told.  
  
Snape looked at his son, seeing for the first and probably last time, the merest hint of recognition and acceptance, knowing it was borne of the desire to have a real family. For the first time in seven years his own hateful glare was not returned by a similar one from his son. "It is true. I loved your mother Harry and I was privileged to receive her love in return.." Snape paused to catch his breath. He coughed again, this time the blood that appeared was wiped away by his son. "We were in our 7th year when she became pregnant. The night she told me was the best and worst night of my life. It was our last night together.."  
  
Snape stiffened as pain tore through him - it was like acid burning in his veins. He closed his eyes, and was startled to feel his son's hand gently touch his face and brush the hair from his eyes. He coughed again - there was more blood and more gentle care from his boy. "I had been promised to Voldemort from birth. I never understood why until a few days ago. I never knew he was my father, just that I was to be his."  
  
"Please stop. It can't be true." Snape could hear the anguish in Harry's voice.  
  
"If you can't believe your father Harry, believe me. It is the truth."  
  
"But I am Harry Potter, not Harry Snape." Harry tried, desperate to prove them both wrong.  
  
Snape nodded weakly. "That is because I gave your mother up to fulfil my parent's promise to Voldemort. I knew James would accept your mother and her child - my child. She deserved more than I could offer as a Death Eater. She deserved better than me even before that, but she didn't see it that way. You saw that in your fifth year, in the pensive. She was as in love with me as I was with her, but no one knew." He paused to draw a shuddering, ragged breath.  
  
"All I wanted was for her to have a happy life and be safe. I turned from Voldemort when I found out you were to be a target.. I warned the headmaster." Dumbledore nodded his confirmation. "But help arrived too late.. I never understood why you were so important. why he would risk everything to kill you, not until I read my mother's letter.. He wanted you because HE knew. He wanted us both. Three Generations. Together we would have been unbeatable.. He knew that. I never understood. I never had all the information until recently, then it was clear to me."  
  
"But the prophecy said it could have been any wizard child born in July. It could have been Neville."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and took over from the man dying in his arms. "Yes Harry, the Prophecy did say that, and Voldemort could have chosen to mark Neville, but I was almost certain the child in question would be you, knowing your heritage as I did. I just wasn't aware of when he would attack, or I would have protected you better. Your father was unaware of the contents of the Prophecy and of the true identity of his own father, but warned me, as soon as he was able, that you were the target. Now it is all clear, and he is right, together the three of you would have been invincible. Two together defeated the third in the end." He finished quietly.  
  
Harry felt anger at Dumbledore rising in him. "You could have stopped this. I - I could have had a living father." He choked out.  
  
Dumbledore looked away, not wishing to see the anger in Harry's eyes. "Yes." He answered the accusation quietly.  
  
Harry turned his attention back to Snape. Torn by the years of torment he had suffered at the man's hands, knowing the truth now made it even harder to bear. "That's why you had to be here with me?" His voice was gentle now.  
  
Snape nodded, almost imperceptibly. "Yes." He breathed, his voice almost lost in the vast room. "I'm sorry Harry."  
  
Harry looked at Dumbledore. The old wizard looked weary and resigned.  
  
"Father."  
  
Snape drew a sharp breath, and winced at the pain it caused. He had never expected to live to hear that word.  
  
"Father look at me." Harry ordered gently. He had hated the man for so long - his whole life - for the torture he had inflicted upon him and his friends, for Sirius' death, for everything in fact. He had hated him so much that it was now it was almost impossible to come to terms with what he was being told, however there was no time left for anger or recriminations. This was the only chance he would have to have a father, the final minutes of the dying man's life.  
  
Snape opened his eyes and turned to look at his son. The pain in them was clear to see. "Harry." He wondered if it could be true. Had his son accepted him? He couldn't believe it possible that acceptance would come so readily, but acceptance wasn't forgiveness. He would never be forgiven, not when he could hardly forgive himself.  
  
"I forgive you. I - I" Suddenly drained and no longer able to fight the truth, Harry fell forward until his head was resting on Snape's chest. He shook as silent sobs overwhelmed him.  
  
"Quiet Son. It's alright." Snape whispered, overwhelmed himself, by the boy's readiness to forgive. He raised his hand to stroke the boy's hair. "It is over. You are free, and soon I shall be too." Snape sighed, finally almost happy, as the last of his energy drained from him.  
  
Little shivers ran down Harry's spine at the gentle touch of his father's elegant fingers on his hair. How many times had he wanted just such a tender touch? Now he had it but it would be gone all too soon and he would be alone again. His body started to shake more as emotions overwhelmed him. He cried out in despair as his father's hand fell from his head and the older wizard's body stilled. "NO!" He cried out in anguish.  
  
He felt Dumbledore's hand rest gently on his shoulder. He felt nothing but anger for the Headmaster, but he didn't have the energy to pull away. "Let's go home Harry. Let's return to Hogwarts."  
  
"Father." He sobbed in despair, he hated the man for the way he had treated him, but now he was lost forever, and the opportunity to repair their relationship properly was gone.  
  
"Quiet Harry," Dumbledore soothed. "He knew the risks. He left a letter for me when you departed this evening. He knew only one of you would walk away from this. He wanted me to know that he would do what he could to ensure that the right wizard survived, and he succeeded. This is the way he wanted it. I know that doesn't help much at the moment, but it will one day. Come. it is time to leave this place."  
  
*****************  
  
Finished and Thank you for reading.  
  
Karren. Frogfoot24@hotmail.com 


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